President Bush's speech
on 6/24/02, will be historic if it is followed immediately by actions on
the ground. The Sharon government should stop its rampage in the West
Bank and Gaza. Assassinations should stop immediately. While President
Bush was delivering his speech, six Palestinians were assassinated by
Israeli helicopters. If this is repeated, it is more likely that
Palestinians will react, and the cycle of violence will continue. Sharon
has to be told to stop in order for the President's plan to work.

Secretary Powell should
be sent to the region without delay to put the plan into practice.
Israel must withdraw its occupation forces in order for Palestinians to
be able to hold their elections and conduct their reforms. The Bush
administration should not wait six more months to start the implementation
of the plan. Israeli atrocities and Palestinian reactions to them
may make peace impossible then. There can be neither Palestinian reforms
nor elections if the Israeli occupation continues. Therefore, the first
and most important step is the Israeli withdrawal and the Israeli
cessation of attacks and assassinations of the Palestinians.

Finally, the Bush
administration should not keep telling Palestinians to elect new
leaders, implying that if Arafat is reelected, then there will be
neither peace nor state for them. This is a Palestinian decision, that
should be made by voters only. After all, Palestinians have never
demanded that Israelis get rid of Sharon first. This is a golden
opportunity for peace that should be seized, and it is in the interest
of all, not just the Palestinian people.

Hassan El-Najjar

6/25/02

Major Implications of President
Bush's speech:

First, Sharon's
policy has become the officialMiddle East policy of the United States.This means that the Israeli occupation and destruction
will continue until Sharon is satisfied that he has crushed the
Palestinian resistance and broken the will of the Palestinian people.
This also means that there will be no negotiations, no withdrawal, and
no halt in settlement activities until Sharon is satisfied, which may
never happen. So, the bloodshed continues.

Second, Colin Powell
and the peace camp in the Bush administration have lost big. Dick
Cheney and Don Ramsfeld, supported by Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Haass, and
Richard Pearl, have won the internal battle in the administration. This
means that the conflict with the Arab and Muslim worlds may be going to
be resolved militarily, not by peaceful means as Colin Powell has
argued. Sharon's method is more likely to be followed in Iraq and other
Muslim and Arab countries. So, this could be the affirmation of the long
Cold (but bloody) War II.

Third, the adoption of
the Sharon policy contradicts with the national interests of the United
States.It
puts the interests of Israel ahead of interests of the United States,
which sheds some light on the size of the Israeli influence over the US
government.

Finally, and most
important, it points to a problem of morality and ethics. How
can we ask the Palestinians, who are under occupation, to conduct
reforms, hold elections, fight "terrorism," and cooperate with
their Israeli oppressors? Isn't that the old sad story, blaming the
victim? Is this all what the superpower of the world can do? Where are
the braves to speak out? Kudos
to Pat Buchanan, to Ted Turner, to Laura Bush, and to Mrs. Blair.